Liam Rosenior makes history as Chelsea pull off comeback win vs West Ham

57-game streak broken 

Those who expected Liam Rosenior to be an Enzo Maresca clone may well be mistaken. For a manager who chooses his words carefully and operates with a cautious setup, Rosenior’s Chelsea team are actually surprisingly chaotic. The west London side claimed a dramatic 3-2 win over capital rivals West Ham who finished with 10 men in what truly was a game of two halves. For the first time, the Blues came back from two goals down at half-time to win a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge at the 57th attempt. By overturning the deficit, Rosenior’s side made history, but perhaps he would be reluctant to pile the praise this time.

West Ham came into the came as huge underdogs with just one win in their last 19 at this stadium in the league and a run of five consecutive defeats. But based on the first half, there was no way of telling that. The visitors were looking confident from the early stages, pushing forward down the right flank through Bowen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while Chelsea were sluggish on the ball and lacking any sort of intent to attack. They got their reward when Jarrod Bowen’s dangerous delivery bounced through without a touch and nestled into the far corner past Robert Sanchez.

West Ham continued to put the pressure on and it was no surprise when Crysencio Summerville made it 2-0 with an incisive finish from 15 yards, drawing loud boos from the furious home supporters. It wasn’t until Rosenior turned to his bench that the momentum of this game truly swung in the Blues’ direction. The Blues boss sent on Wesley Fofana and João Pedro on at the break, hauling off the disappointing duo Alejandro Garnacho and Jorrel Hato. The double substitution didn’t have an immediate impact, though, with West Ham nearly adding a third through Mateus Fernandes only to see his effort saved by Sanchez. But the pair did eventually link up to justify their inclusion in the game.

Fofana sent in a deep cross to find Pedro at the far post and the Brazilian cleverly guided his header across the goal to beat Alphonse Areola on 57 minutes. Then another substitute, Marc Cucurella, bundled the ball home 13 minutes later to level things up. Rosenior’s reinforcements were running riot. His opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo wasn’t quite as fortunate. Jean-Clair Todibo happened to the be the wrong man in the right place when the ball fell loose in the six-yard box and he somehow managed to miss the target, instead striking the outside of the post.

That miss would prove to be a costly one for the visitors as Chelsea continued to press forward for a winner and, into five minutes of stoppage time, they found what they were looking for. The influential Pedro dribbled into the 18-yard box on the right side and cut the ball back to Enzo Fernández, who channelled Frank Lampard with a late run into the box and finished emphatically past Areola to spark wild scenes. There was still time for more drama, however, when a 20-man brawl broke out and VAR deemed that Todibo had been guilty of violent conduct for grabbing Pedro by his neck.

West Ham never should have lost this game after squandering a two-goal lead – and in doing so, it means they have now lost six games in a row at Stamford Bridge in the league. It’s also the sixth win out of seven for Rosenior since taking charge and the second comeback victory in a matter of four days after beating Napoli on Wednesday in the Champions League.

It’s fair to say he has the backing of the players and his changes were significant in altering the outcome of the game. But the 41-year-old knows he must get his selection right from the off next time around, because a third comeback in as many games is surely beyond them.